Jim Goodman, originally from Cincinnati, moved to Asia permanently in 1972 and has published several books on Nepal and Thailand. In 1988 he settled in Chiang Mai and has been engaged for ten years in handicraft production with the Akha people. Since 1992 he has been exploring the minority-inhabited areas of China's Yunnan province where he spends several months a year.

Teak House has produced a series of extremely high quality books combining the large format and excellent photography associated with "coffee table books" with authoritative text from some of the best known experts in their fields. Ideal for both travelers and academic readers.

No Province in China boasts the geographical diversity of Yunnan. Lijiang County, situated in the far northwest amidst breath-taking landscapes, is home to several of the province's ethnic minority groups. Two of the most interesting are the Naxi and their neighbours the Yi. Famous for their centuries-old musical tradition and unique pictographic writing system, the Naxi founded Lijiang, which is now the best-preserved traditional city in the country. In the nearby mountains live the Yi, formerly a slave-holding society, now a proud and conservative people who have been little affected by the modernisation taking place in China. Over Lijiang looms the snow-covered peak of Jade Dragon Mountain which dominates the lives of both peoples and has come to symbolise the region.